My mom was brave in a lot of ways, but she could be a scared white woman, just as her mother taught her to be. Her sisters and mine got tired of being scared and started getting pissed, and “The Perfect Neighbor” is exactly the kind of movie that should piss you off.
Director Geeta Gandbhir's critically acclaimed documentary throws you head-first into senseless tragedy before making an abrupt heel-turn through time to plop us directly into the neighborhood at the heart of it all.
"The Perfect Neighbor" ditches all the usual documentary hallmarks — there's minimal narration, barely any cuts. Just 97 minutes of footage where you never get the luxury of looking away from the unedited truth for long.
What is 'The Perfect Neighbor' about?
We’ve all heard this kind of story a million times. With Tamir Rice. With George Floyd. With Trayvon Martin, whose killer also invoked Florida's stand-your-ground statute to justify senseless racist violence. You don’t have to know the facts of this particular case to piece together what happened, but you should.
When I first saw the trailer for "The Perfect Neighbor," I thought it was a found-footage horror movie, and that's 100% by design. The documentary relies entirely on police bodycam, ringcam, and cell phone footage to tell the tragic story of a neighborhood dispute in Florida that escalated until the woman behind all the complaints, Susan Lornicz, shot and killed her Black neighbor, Ajike “AJ” Shantrell Owens, a mother of four.
From the jump, the footage makes it clear that Lornicz is not well, and she is angry. Based on her complaints to police, you'd think the world of "Mad Max" was just outside her door, but spliced with her yelling and dog whistling is "damning" footage of predominantly Black kids outside on bikes, playing tag or touch football in a nearby empty field. (I hate that this footage is evidence, too. It's just kids being kids.) Neighbors say Lornicz frequently yelled at neighborhood kids and allegedly waved guns at them in one instance.
The two years of tension reached a boiling point on June 2, 2023 when she got into a heated exchange with two of Owens' sons. After shooting Owens, Lornicz is treated more like a toddler than a suspect by the police. Despite the evidence against her, she's not taken into custody immediately, only getting arrested later after another round of questions and public outcry from the community. During questioning and at trial, she repeatedly argues that she only pulled the trigger because she feared for her life, but the footage speaks for itself.
This isn't entertainment, but it is required viewing
Like I said, the footage is damning enough on its own, but "The Perfect Neighbor" does a masterful job laying out the timeline for audiences to observe the unflinching reality, and feel the impact of a racist who shattered a community and the cops who treated her with kid gloves even after she had blood on her hands.
A trio of powerhouse storytellers at the helm make this labor of love feel natural and effortless: Geeta Gandbhir, a director mentored by Sam Pollard and Spike Lee; her life partner and fellow filmmaker, Nikon Kwantu, who has two decades of experience as a multimedia, film, and animation producer; and Alisa Payne, the producer behind the Emmy and NAACP Image Award–nominated documentary "Stamped from the Beginning."
I found myself getting wrapped up in everything that wasn't being said, parsing out which cops seemed to take Lornicz's story at face value and which ones didn't, how that impacts their tone of voice and treatment of neighborhood kids. The first complaint we see police respond to is the only one in the documentary where a Black female officer is on the scene, and the looks she shares with Owens speak volumes.
Thankfully, many of the cops come to the same conclusion her poor neighbors have been saying all along: That Lornicz is just angry she has to live in a neighborhood with Black people. That mutual understanding offers little comfort given the tragedy that follows.
"The Perfect Neighbor" is more chilling than any horror movie. Not that that will stop your brain from inevitably drawing parallels to found-footage horror movies, especially when the police respond at night and all the ring cams and harsh bright flashlights make reality look like a scene plucked straight out of "Paranormal Activity" and the like.
Truthfully, I'd take one of those demons as a neighbor over Lornicz any day. It's unsettling seeing her more distressed by the fact that she's being arrested than she was to learn she'd killed someone.
The same cops who commiserated with her frustrated neighbors over tales of childhood and awkward daps fail to treat Lornicz with even an ounce of the same suspicion they had at the ready for the community's Black children. The moments when Lornicz is actually being questioned by the police are as unsettling as they are unsurprising. Watching a grown woman being coaxed by police to stand up and be handcuffed reminded me of my friends convincing her 2-year-old to put shoes on. It's surreal, and sadly all too familiar.
Should you stream 'The Perfect Neighbor' on Netflix?
I remember hearing about Owens' case when it happened. I'd lost my own mom at the end of April that year, a fellow single mother quick to defend her kids even after they'd long grown.
While writing this, I learned that Owens’ mother, Pamela Dias, said she supported the film from its earliest stages to honor her daughter’s life and turn grief into purpose. “I feel my call to duty, I’m carrying on her spirit,” she said in a Netflix press release.
That doesn't surprise me one bit; I definitely felt a mother's touch throughout this film. Forgive me for mistaking it for my own, I selfishly find reason to see her everywhere these days (she adored movies too).
This is usually the part where I talk about how, if I haven't managed to convince you to add "The Perfect Neighbor" to your watchlist, maybe these words from critics will sway you, but that same ol' song and dance feel tasteless for something like this. So instead, I'll just speak plainly about why I think everyone should watch this documentary, especially given everything going on these days.
“The Perfect Neighbor” is built around a powerful message: Don’t look away. And once the credits are rolling, do something about it.
Stream "The Perfect Neighbor" on Netflix now
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